Sithking Zero: I don't own Megaman.
We're getting a new Parakeet! His/her name (we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet; the little thing's too young) is going to be Elwood (after one of the Blues Brothers) or Eli.
On with the next chapter!
Chapter 11:
Reunion and Problems
To review: In the last chapter, Roll and Zero were almost out of the huge underground hideout of Sigma, the Maverick Lord. Suddenly, Gutsman, who was infected with the Maverick Virus (which takes over the enemy and enslaves them to Sigma), appeared and attempted to kill our dashing heroes. He succeded in knocking out Zero briefly, but was shortly killed by Roll in self-defense. Then Zero woke up.
Continuing on…
Roll, supporting Zero, lurched out of the hole in the ground that led into the dark lair of the Mavericks.
The two Net Savors laid down on the grass for a moment, taking in deep breaths of the sweet, crisp night air.
Finally, Zero, who had finally recovered from his concussion, turned to Roll.
"Roll?"
"Yeah, Zero?"
"Wanna head back to my place? I bet Matt and Maylu are worried."
"Sure. Do you have a guest bedroom?"
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In the real world…
Matt was pacing.
This pacing was very unusual for him, as he knew that if anyone could dive headfirst into an enemy base and come back alive, his best friend and navi, Zero could.
Especially when backed up by the six Rhakshi and a friendly, powerful Net Savor, such as Roll.
However, he was still nervous. His gut instinct was telling him that something exceptionally bad was about to happen. And his gut instinct was never wrong.
He turned to share this with his friend and fellow netop, Maylu, but was unable to due to one small problem.
Maylu was fast asleep on his couch.
Her hair was slightly askew, and several strands were draped over her eyes, which were moving despite their being closed, indicating that she was having a dream. She was curled up into a small ball, shivering slightly from a vent directly above her head.
Silently, Matt reached behind the sofa and pulled out a blanket.
It was a soft, slightly worn blanket, powder-blue and large enough to have a nice picnic on. Gently, he placed the blanket over her, and her shaking stopped.
Turning back to the kitchen, he looked at the clock.
He did a double take.
It was three in the morning and Zero and Roll had not come back.
That was when Matt knew that something was wrong. Horrible thoughts began to run through his head, culminating in a particularly gruesome image of Zero being eaten alive by Sigma. Deciding that he had waited long enough, he reached down to his red-and-white PET, only to discover…
"Hi, Matt. Can I speak to Maylu?"
A pink netnavi with blonde hair was giving him a sort of bleary-eyed smile. Holding on to her shoulder for support was none other then his own treasured navi, Zero.
Both navis looked much the worse for wear; both had burn marks, cuts, scars, and what looked like about a year's worth of dirt covering them.
He thought of a hundred things to say to his best friend, but none would do better then a simple, "You feeling okay, Z?"
Zero gave him a nasty look, but everyone could tell it was in good humor.
"Aside from the cuts, the concussion, and pain in every nerve ending in my body, I'm fine. How about you, Roll?"
"About the same. How about you, Matt?"
Matt felt a large lump in his chest collapse, and he was able to breathe easily again. However…
"Zero…"
"Yes?"
"What happened to the Rhakshi? I thought that they were supposed to be watching you two. Did they run off to eat viruses again?"
Roll couldn't meet Matt's inquiring eyes, and he saw Zero stiffen. Slowly, the previously banished knot of tension came back…
Seven Hours Later…
Maylu Sakurai woke up at around nine o'clock. Stretching, she felt the powder-blue blanket slide gently off.
Looking at her PET for any sign of her missing friend, she almost stopped herself, briefly thinking of the feeling of loss she would feel if her best friend wasn't there.
Ignoring the nagging doubts that haunted her, she took her pink-and-red PET and stared into the screen, hoping against all odds that her Netnavi was alive and well.
To her intense joy, her Navi was there, but sleeping.
Maylu cried out in her happiness, "ROLL!"
Roll bolted upright, still sleepy.
"Maylu, do you have to yell? I'm still kinda tired from last night."
Maylu, noticing the dirt, grime, and damage Roll had acquired, immediately began to fuss over each and every single one of her injuries and maladies.
"Roll! Are you okay? Did you catch the kidnapper? How'd you get those injuries? Where's Zero? Hold on, I think that I have a recovery chip…"
Roll was temporarily overwhelmed by the barrage of questions that her beloved Netop launched at her. Quickly regaining her composure, she managed to get a word in edgewise.
"Maylu, I'm okay, No, I fought Protoman and Gutsman, and Zero, well…"
The pink navi paused for a moment, then gestured towards the kitchen.
Matt was holding his face in his hands, face-down on the table, his back moving up and down in quiet sobs. Zero, from his PET stand, looked on and tried to comfort his best friend.
Quietly, Maylu stood up and walked over to her Net Savor partner.
"Matt? What's wrong?"
Matt looked up briefly, but he was not a pretty sight. He hadn't slept a wink all night, he hadn't showered, and he had been crying hard all night. In terms of people who didn't know Matt well, his hair was greasy, his eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles, and they were bloodshot and puffy.
He spoke in a hoarse whisper.
"They're gone."
"Who?" Maylu asked.
"The Rhakshi. They… They died like heroes. Zero just told me. They died trying to take down a Maverick army general."
He broke down into sobs again.
Zero gave him a sympathetic look.
"The Rhakshi are dead," he announced blandly, emotionlessly. "They died fighting Protoman, and we finished him off."
Maylu's mind was whirling. Protoman was evil? It made no sense to her.
Turning to her reliable navi, Maylu began to ask what was going on, when Roll put out a hand, effectively silencing her netop.
"There's a navi called Sigma," Roll began, "who has a way to brainwash navis and turn them into his slaves. We barely escaped, but we had to kill Gutsman and Protoman."
Maylu stared openmouthed at Roll.
"You beat Protoman? I'm impressed, Roll."
Roll blushed slightly, then replied, "I just distracted him. Zero killed him."
Zero gave a stiff nod, then returned to his vigilant watch over his emotionally distraught netop.
Maylu, after a moment's hesitation, sat down next to her partner.
Speaking softly, she tried to comfort the sobbing boy next to her.
"It's okay, Matt…" she began, in as soothing of a voice as possible.
"No it's not."
"Sure it is. Look on the bright side."
Matt turned to look at her with a glare.
"Like what?"
It took Maylu a couple seconds to think of a response to this, and when she did respond, it was uncertain at first, but gained strength and power with each word.
"Well… we know who we're facing… and Zero and Roll survived! Not to mention that we know where Sigma's hideout is…"
Slowly, Matt stopped crying, his sobs dying down to gentle hiccup or two, then down to an occasional sniffle.
Finally, he sat up, his eyes still red, but overall, he looked much happier.
"Thanks. I needed that."
Maylu smiled slightly. "You're welcome."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then, Maylu got up, saying, "Well, I have to go. My parents are coming home from their vacation today, and I want to make the house look a little nicer."
"Okay. See you later!"
"Bye!"
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In a darkened cavern, a huge force of Netnavis, Programs, and Viruses gathered their strength.
"Your assignments are clear. You know what to do. We shall attack in three days."
A female voice rang out.
"GLORY TO LORD SIGMA!"
The cry was repeated, then redoubled, until the entire army roared with the chant.
"GLORY TO LORD SIGMA! GLORY TO LORD SIGMA! GLORY TO LORD SIGMA!"
The first speaker leaned over to his second in command, who was the second speaker.
"Nice work. You should be promoted."
The female smiled. It managed to catch the light reflected off of her antennae.
Sithking Zero: Good god, that was the worst chapter that I've ever written.
Please Read and Review, because not every chapter is as bad as this filler crud.